"What's great is there's now such a depth of talent in New Zealand and it's all about sharing knowledge with those who are starting out," he said.

"Kiwi developers are really creative. We can do a game efficiently but still add the professionalism and creativity to it that's missing in some markets overseas.

We make fun, original games."

Knightly is quick to point out that gaming "a serious business".

"These are hi-tech, high-export jobs and the games industry is pioneering new business models."

He said 99 per cent of games developed in New Zealand are designed for international markets and exported.

The challenge to is help more Kiwi developers become more than one-hit-wonders, he said.

That could soon become more likely, with the Auckland Media Design School currently waiting on final NZQA approval to run two bachelor degrees, the Bachelor of Software Engineering (Game Programming) and Bachelor of Creative Technologies (Game Art). If approved, both would start this August.

Keynote speakers at tomorrow's conference are UK indie game developer Alex Amsel, and one of the industry's biggest publishers, Jeff Olsen, vice-president of Adult Swim Digital.